The recent election in Iran, marked by a significant lack of participation, has drawn varied reactions from both domestic and foreign media outlets.
This electoral setback serves as yet another warning sign against religious authoritarianism. Notably, ‘Farikhtegan,’ a newspaper aligned with the regime’s principlist faction, offered a critical analysis of the regime’s predicament:
“The turnout of 41% in the March 1 elections marks the lowest participation rate in the history of the Islamic Republic. Such consecutive elections with turnout below 50% carry profound implications, primarily indicating a crisis of legitimacy.”
The newspaper delves into three key aspects shaping the election:
- The populace finds itself amidst the “most dissatisfied possible” political, economic, and cultural circumstances.
- The unresolved aftermath of the uprisings in 2019 and 2022 continues to reverberate within the political landscape.
- Political factions are deemed increasingly irrelevant, failing to adequately represent the grievances of the populace.
This candid assessment from a state-affiliated media outlet underscores the regime’s deep-seated challenges and the inability of its factions to address the crisis. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s prior admonition to regime officials – warning that “weak elections” would be detrimental to all stakeholders – emphasizes the importance of maintaining the regime’s facade through participation. However, post-election developments indicate that this strategy has failed to yield the desired outcome.
The regime’s primary concern remains quelling popular discontent, as evidenced by the ongoing public unrest. Instead of consolidating its power and stability, the regime faces mounting illegitimacy. It’s worth noting that this crisis of legitimacy is not novel; it has plagued the regime since its inception.
Fundamentally, the regime’s rule stems not from the genuine will of the Iranian people, but from coercion and manipulation. It’s unequivocal that Iran does not operate as a democratic system, where the people have a direct say in governance and can exercise their right to change the system through referendums.
Official statistics, albeit subject to regime censorship, reveal a stark reality. In Tehran, for instance, only 1,569,857 votes were cast out of 7,775,357 eligible voters, signifying an 80% boycott rate.
Moreover, the winning candidate received a mere 7.6% of eligible votes, while even the fourteenth-place candidate garnered just 4%. These figures underscore widespread disenchantment with the electoral process, with a majority of Tehranis rejecting it outright.
The situation in Tehran serves as a barometer for the broader sentiment across Iran’s cities and urban centers. The staggering number of invalid votes and the overwhelming boycott demonstrate the resounding rejection of the election by the Iranian populace.
